Body of Christ, Listen Up!…We are our own Worst Enemy

By Patrick Hawthorne

Ok…I’ve had it up to here! I know you can’t see where the here is but use your imagination. First of all, I am a Charismatic. Yeah, yeah, I’m one of those nut jobs who have fallen to the insidious master plot of satan to put a veil between my eyes and God’s inerrant Word. Now that we have established that, let’s get on to what has me somewhat ticked.

I am fed up with these off the wall, wacked-out, wing nuts who fall under the designation of Charismatic coming up with some of the most ridiculous nonsense ever told and then claiming, “Thus saith the Lord.” No! The Lord didn’t saith, your pizza did.

I repeat…I am a Charismatic. I have operated in several of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I’ve heard the arguments of those who wouldn’t know the presence of the Holy Spirit even if He slapped them upside the head and hung a neon sign around their neck. Your arguments are noted and filed and yes, somewhat understood because we Charismatics can be our own worst enemy.

For instance, there are times when some nut job who claims to operate in the gifts of the Spirit waltzes into town claiming to have the latest, greatest, and most update-est revelation of God only to see many in the Body…mainly those who call themselves Charismatic…drool over this person like a love struck teenager. Have we forgotten we need to test the spirits to see if they are of God?

I don’t mean to be blunt…ok, that’s a lie because I aim to be very blunt… but come on folks. Is it any wonder that Charismatics are given a “Koo-Koo” label by other denominational groups? Let me give you an example. I will not mention the person’s name, but he is declaring, from a prophecy given him several years ago, that if the Carolina Panthers win the Super Bowl, their win will signal a nationwide awakening and movement of God. Come on! Really? What if they lose?

Now for you none Charismatics. Get off your high horses. Many of you love to spout off about the problems of those who dare believe God still moves. I remember the uproar many years ago because Oral Roberts dared have a theme song which claimed, “Something good is going to happen today.” Let’s be honest. Some of your churches are so dead they are mistaken for a grave yard.

You love to point out all the wrongs of those you disagree with. You claim freedom in the Lord but are bound tight by your legalistic board driven committee who tells the Pastor what to preach but will not allow the Holy Spirit to orchestrate the service.

I guess what I’m really ticked off about is that we, the Body of Jesus Christ, have been acting like a bunch of two year olds throwing a temper tantrum. KNOCK IT OFF!! There are people who are dying and going to hell. They are looking at all this nonsense which only serves to validate their reasoning for wanting to stay in their sinful life style. Ok… I’m through. Please have a blessed day.

55 comments on “Body of Christ, Listen Up!…We are our own Worst Enemy”

I am not a Charismatic, but I agree with you brother! You knocked a home run on this one. My only pastorate was a deacon-led (I mean one single deacon though there were others) monument that had people who wanted a move of God, but many immature people got in the way. I’m crazy enough to believe that God still performs miracles and will do what He wills. Who am I to say what God will or will not do? From what I read, you seem to be a pretty balanced guy. Keep telling it like it is!!!

Thank you sir… I appreciate the comment. However, my wife might argue with the balanced part. By the way, I noticed that you do not have the comments section opened on your blog. Is that an oversight or intentional?

Thanks for the drop by. By Charismatic, I believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit are very much in operation in the Church. There are some who teach that the manifested gifts of the Holy Spirit passed away sometime after the death of the apostles.

The term comes from the Greek word Charisma which means gifts and where we get the word Grace. Who actually came up with it I don’t know but I think it started around the early 1900’s… I could be wrong about that though.

❤ I love your heart not just because it matches mine but because it glorifies God above all else. Well said, let's leave the future to God and concentrate on sharing His love in the present with the Lost and the hurting.

I do believe that the Holy Spirit is ever on the move. We must wake up to its presence and be willing to do God’s will even and especially in this world that declares us to be “koo-koo.”
Blessings, Patrick!

This was quite perfect Patrick. Especially well done was how you smacked everybody in the head equally! Seriously, though well done my friend. Not sure if you ever saw this one of mine, but you might like it.

Thanks Wally, I will take a waltz on over there and look at it. One thing I’m discovering through blogging, which is I’m sure a reason the Lord led me this direction, is to learn that just because we may attend different camps in our pursuit of our Lord Jesus, our objectives are the same and our race is in the same direction. No, we might not always agree, but what family does?

Hey again Patrick. I just thought I’d drag my comments back over here, since you really started the discussion. Thanks for coming over and reading, I appreciate it much.

No, we aren’t that far apart I suspect. I stand by my assertion that the Bible teaches the end of the spiritual manifestation gifts. That, however, doesn’t limit God. Last time I checked He had not stopped being God, or stopped being all powerful. He can still do any thing He wants, at any time, including the miraculous.

I used the term miracle once around a fellow church member, and they almost had a stroke and quickly informed me…”There is no such thing as miracles any more!”. Really? Gotcha, God can’t do stuff anymore. I challenged their assertion LOL.

I especially like what you said over at my place about the gifts being for all, not a select few. Amen and amen and more amen. That is actually one of my major issues with some in the Charismatic movement, the teaching that some are more special than others.

On the other side, even among people I know, is almost a complete denial of the active work of the Holy Spirit. Our doctrinal statement says the following…”the vital abiding spiritual gifts are faith, hope, and love.” No where dies it say that all the rest of the spiritual gifts have ceased, just the miraculous manifestation ones. Despite that, I know many who teach that only those three remain. Heck, we don’t actually believe that according to our own Doctrinal statement.

The other day, in our young teen evening Sunday school book we were teaching about the Spiritual gifts. The writer printed that point our Doctrinal statement, but left out the word “vital” and that is an important word. He presented it as “only” faith hope and love remain. Not on that, but he included this statement in his lesson text. ” We have taken a stand against the Spiritual Gifts.” Really? Who is this we you speak of? LOL.

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I have gotten behind in my reading. You are right in there being a lot of abuse in many directions. You are in your denomination, I believe, because you are needed to help keep those in your arena on course. You can speak the truth in love to many who might not listen to me, and vise versa…and on a level that they will identify with.

Hey Patrick! Join the crowd. Some days I realize it’s been days since I read some friend’s blog. Don’t ever feel bad about it. I am not going anywhere. Unless we get taken away of course, then we won’t really care will we?